Commercial Motorcyclists: Do they care about road safety?

A cross-sectional community based study carried out in Calabar, capital city of Cross River State in November 2005 to study the attitude of commercial motorcyclists to road safety regulations and practices. Randomly selected commercial motorcyclists at various parks in the city, who agreed to participate in the study, were interviewed. Information regarding certain aspects of road safety was obtained from them using interviewer administered questionnaires. Two hundred and forty seven commercial motorcyclists were entered into the study. Their ages ranged from 18 to 57 years, mean age of 33.9 years (+/-SD 7.5years). They were all males. Only 102 (41.3%) of them had formal training on riding motorcycle. Eighty eight (35.7%) had motorcycle riders' license and 108 (43.7%) had vehicle insurance policy. Only 16.2% of them carry the recommended one passenger at a time. While 83.4% of the respondents agreed that the use of crash helmet is good, only 57.5% would like the government to enforce its use by motorcyclists. Eighty six respondents (34.8%) take alcohol to enhance their performance while working. The attitude of the commercial motorcyclists in Calabar to road safety is poor. This can be enhanced by educating them on the tenets of road safety as well as strict enforcement of traffic regulations. Keywords: Commercial Motorcyclists, Road Safety, Attitude, Calabar The Nigerian Medical Practitioner Vol. 51 (6) 2007: pp. 111-11